Alameda has plenty of 1964-73 Mustangs on the street. So many, in fact, that I've been taking a sort of "mañana, mañana" attitude about photographing most of them (this also happens with 60s GM pickups and air-cooled Volkswagens). This leads me to wonder why I never see any first-generation Camaros or Firebirds parked on the island's streets; they were made in vast numbers and aren't worth much more than Mustangs now, so what happened to them? Hooned into oblivion? Feel free to weigh in on that burning issue as we take a look at a nice example of the "big" first-generation Mustang.

The '73 Mustang convertible, while based on the same chassis as the original 64-1/2 model, weighed in at a hefty 3,198 pounds. That was 584 pounds more than the first Mustang convertible, and matters weren't helped by the Malaise engine selection for '73: the base six groaned out a miserable 88 horses (versus 101 for the '64-1/2 six), while the 302 V8 didn't do much better at 135 horsepower. Should we talk about the weight of the '09 Mustang? Hey, at least the power is there!

But who cares? It's a red convertible with a luggage rack- head to the beach!

I sure hope that's a temporary vinyl sticker slapped on this pony's flank, because that paint job looks pretty good. OK, now on to our poll; you can click on the name of each entry to see more photos:

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Hey, how about another poll? I haven't been shooting the early Fox Mustangs, but perhaps they belong in this series. What say you, dear readers?

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